Where to drink on match-days?

During the current gloom the importance of a good pre and/or post-match drink has been heightened. Only trouble is that our drinking options have continued to dwindle and we are now fast approaching something of a crisis.

For me, the basic requirement is a proper pub, one where you might spend several hours on any other day quite happily. I am prepared to put up with Legends or Crossbars (or whatever) once or twice a season for a change or an occasion. It's actually quite refreshing but I couldn't do it every week. I have never been a fan of Working Mens Clubs either. Those metal chairs, too many kids and too many rules for the uninitiated.

So, what that has meant for me over the years, has been the White Swan, very occasionally the Bugle, more often the Rose of Denmark, once upon-a-time the Victoria, the Horse & Groom of yesteryear and the Royal Oak for the best part of the last 15 years. Even the Anchor makes a pleasant change on an early Summer afternoon. Invariably I'll visit several of these on a Saturday.

I tried the Lads from the Village/Thanes Barrier when it was open and have ventured down the Woolwich Road on occasion to the White Swan and whatever they call the other couple nowadays. The Valley was a regular haunt in the days of Phil Marron but long since went down the pan. The Anti and the Watermans were invariably full of away fans although that's never stopped me completely.

So, why are we in the current predicament? Well, we all know that the Watermans, the Vic, The Thames Barrier and now the Horse and Groom have all shut. The White Horse has very strange women running it last time I was in and Clancys/Dockers/Westminster etc is pyschologically too far (not great either). The White Swan has gone downhill badly - it is in desperate need of a makeover and attracts old men and old soaks. The Bugle accommodates a non-Addick crowd from the flats up the top and is not particularly welcoming. The Valley died a death in the 90's. That pretty much leaves the Rose of Denmark, the Oak and the Anchor.

The Anchor is just too far for me to contemplate using regularly, so it's the Denmark or the Oak. The Denmark remains a good pub with proper bar staff and is well run. The glass doors at the front have made a significant improvement and you can get served reasonably quickly on all but the days when away fans pack the pub (like on Saturday). In fact, away fans can be the only draw-back here. At least they are barred after the game when you can only get in around the back on production of your season ticket.

That leaves the Royal Oak, my staple. Unfortunately, it has gone downhill since Ray departed. the new landlord is very rarely in the bar, even on matchdays. He has changed out all the "proper" bar-staff and we now have four or five Arsenal fans who laugh when they hear we've just been beaten again. They work at a pace akin to the employees in the ground's burger outlets i.e. slow and have no idea about managing the expectations of the waiting customers. It is now possible to stand there for half an hour and be missed repeatedly. The pub has been extended to the right as you look and this should be a major benefit, but it doesn't work. They still only have the one door on the left and the bar has grown to squeeze the passageway around to the right. What's more, the landlord has now taken to only serving several lines on matchdays - the rest are all covered -up, as are the optics. You can't even get salt n vinegar crisps! This doesn't work and the punters have been voting with their feet. You can actually get served much easier now, if you want one of the three drinks on offer.

You have to wonder why Charlton didn't buy the Royal Oak when Ray left. It has a rich Charlton history and would take very little to turn it into a Club Pub without the sterility of the bars in the ground.

I have taken to to the Rose of Denmark instead in recent months but the away fans can be a drawback. I think I'll try the Anchor again for the last home game because I am tempted to stay in there all afternoon in any event.